Sunsets seem to pop out the colors even more at the Painted Hills.
The Painted Hills can be magical. Geological stratigraphy on display. Reds, tans, blacks, browns all laid out in layers slightly tilted. Of the three units of the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument, this one attracts the most visitors. The Hills are closest in distance to large cities of any size – one and half to two hours from Bend (90 miles) and four to five from Portland (a little over 200 miles depending upon your route) – while the other units are another hour further on.
Thomas Condon, John Day and fossils all come together in the middle of Oregon. The fossils came first. Then, trapper and hunter, John Day, working with the Pacific Fur Company came west in 1810. He spent the final ten years of his life living in the Pacific Northwest. He and fellow fur trader Ramsay Crooks were robbed and stripped of their clothes by Native Americans near the confluence of the John Day and Columbia Rivers. History records four different dates for John Day’s death and posterity has left many geographic features named in his memory.
Sheep Rock from the John Day River near Cant Ranch.
The best known is the John Day River. Note – there is another smaller John Day River near Astoria close to the Pacific. This river is the fourth longest river in the lower 48 United States without a dam along its entire length. It is the longest within Oregon and the Pacific Northwest – not that there have not been plans for one. The section between Service Creek and Tumwater Falls is part of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System.
